The Arabic Origins of

Cryptology

Book Two

ibn Adlan's Treatise

al-mu'allaf lil-malik al-'Asraf

Dr. M. MRAYATI

Dr. YAHYA MEER ALAM Dr. M. HASSAN at-TAYYAN

The Arabic Origins of Cryptology
 Translated by

Said M. al-Asaad

Revised by

Prof. Mohammed I. AL-Suwaiyel

Prof. Ibrahim A. Kadi

Marwan al-Bawab

Composition and layout

Ousama Rajab
Contents

Table of transliterating Arabic words ...................................... 7

Preface ............................................................................................ 9

Chapter 1: Analytical Study of ibn Adl n's treatise .................. 11

1.1 ibn Adl n's biography ........................................................... 13
1.2 Study and analysis of ibn Adl n's treatise
al-mu'allaf lil-malik al-'A raf ................................................ 14
1.3 Structure of the treatise .......................................................... 15
1.3.1 Preface ............................................................................ 15
1.3.2 Rules in cryptanalysis ..................................................... 17
1.3.3 Conclusion- Practice and exercise .................................. 23
1.4 ibn Adl n's originality .......................................................... 24

Chapter 2: ibn Adl n's edited treatise ....................................... 25

2.1 Editing methodology .............................................................. 27
2.2 Description of the manuscript ................................................ 28
2.3 al-mu'allaf lil-malik al-'A raf on cryptanalysis ..................... 31
- Preface ................................................................................ 40
- Rule 1: On the Order of Letter Frequency of Occurrence .. 48
- Rule 2: On the Frequency of Two-Letter Words ................ 50
- Rule 3: On the Length of Cryptanalysed Message .............. 52
- Rule 4: On Spacers .............................................................. 58
- Rule 5: On the Cryptanalysis of the Letters (‫ )ي( & )ا‬......... 60
- Rule 6: On the Quantitative Identification of Every
Word with Definite Article ..................................... 64
- Rule 7: On the Four Letters Preceding the Definite Article 66
- Rule 8: On Introductory Expressions and Honorary Titles 66
- Rule 9: On Letters Occurring Initially in Words ................. 68
- Rule 10: On Letters Occurring Terminally in Words ......… 70
- Rule 11: On Compound Words of the Same Order ............. 72
- Rule 12: On Cryptanalysing No-Word-Spacer
Cryptograms .......................................................... 80
- Rule 13: On a Word's Initial Letter Repeated Twice .......... 86
- Rule 14: On a Word's Terminal Letter Repeated Twice ..... 86
- Rule 15: On Identical Vocables .......................................... 88
- Rule 16: On Cryptanalysing Poetry .................................... 88
- Rule 17: On Rhyme ............................................................. 94
- Rule 18: Preliminaries to Cryptanalysis ............................ 100
- Rule 19: On the Letter (‫" )ي‬y" at the End of Words ......... 102
- Rule 20: General ................................................................ 102
Conclusion: Practice and Exercise ....................................... 104
 Table of transliterating Arabic words
For transliterating Arabic words (names, titles, etc.) we have adopted the
International System for the Transliteration of Arabic characters, devised by the
International Standards Organization (ISO). The system constitutes ISO
Recommendation R233 (December 1961). Given below is this system, with some
additional explanations found to be necessary.

Vowels:
Arabic characters Transliteration Examples

(fat a) a as u in cup.
Short as o in rock,
( amma) u and u in put.
Vowels
as e in red,
(kasra) i and i in big.
As a in last.
Long
Vowels
ٚ (preceded by ) as oo in moon.

‫( ي‬preceded by ) as ee in sheet.

Consonants:
Arabic
Transliteration Examples
characters
' (e.g. 'amr, 'ibr h m, fu' d, kis ' , t ').

as a in add (e.g. ' dam, qur' n).

‫ة‬ b as b in back.
‫د‬ t as t in tea.
‫س‬ as th in thin.
‫ط‬ as g in logic.
‫ػ‬ (e.g. tim).
‫ؿ‬ (e.g. lid).
‫ك‬ d as d in day.
‫م‬ as th in then.

7
 ‫ه‬ r as r in red.
‫ى‬ z as z in zoo.
ً s as s in soon.
ُ as sh in show.
‫ص‬ (e.g. mi r).
‫ض‬ (e.g. ir r).
‫غ‬ (e.g. riq).
‫ؾ‬ (e.g. fir).
‫ع‬ (e.g. Abb s).
‫غ‬ (e.g. lib).
‫ف‬ f as f in few.
‫ق‬ q (e.g. qur' n).
‫ن‬ k as k in key.
‫ي‬ l as l in led.
َ m as m in sum.
ْ n as n in sun.
‫٘ـ‬ h as h in hot.
ٚ w as w in wet (e.g. wahab, nawfal).
‫ي‬ y as ie in orient (e.g. y q t, dunayn r).

Notes:
(t ' marb a): In the absolute state, ignored in transliteration (e.g. mad na); in
the construct state, rendered by (t) (mad nat annab ).
(suk n): Ignored in transliteration.
( adda): rendered by doubling the consonant.

8
Preface

This is the second book of the The Arabic Origins of Cryptology

series, which addresses the cryptological contributions of the Arabs,
and translates the treatises of Arab cryptologists.
We dedicate an individual book for each treatise. The first book
was devoted to the oldest treatise in cryptanalysis, which was written
by the well-known Arab philosopher al-Kind about 1200 years ago.
The second book (this one) of the series tackles the treatise of ibn
Adl n. The third deals with the treatise of ibn ad-Durayhim. For the
time being, nine books are envisaged, unless more manuscripts are
discovered.
The first three books of the series are the translated copy of
Volume One of our Arabic book entitled " ilm at-ta miya wasti r al-
mu amm inda al- Arab" (Origins of Arab Cryptography and
Cryptanalysis). This volume has been published in Damascus in 1987.
In Book One we have allotted a full chapter to study and analyse
cryptology among the Arabs. We hope this will prove useful for
understanding the whole series.

* * *
This book is divided into two chapters, devoting the first chapter
to an analytical study of the edited treatise of ibn Adl n. It aims at
elucidating difficult or vague points, spotting particular features and,
more importantly, highlighting aspects of originality and innovation in
the treatie. It is divided into four sections, the first of which is on
ibn Adl n's biography.
The second section is a full study and analysis of ibn Adl n's
Treatise, while the third section delineates its structure. This section
contains a preface, rules in cryptanalysis, and a conclusion of a
practical example of a real ciphered message, explaining the steps ibn
Adl n follows in cryptanalysing it.

9
 In the fourth section we have concluded our analysis of the treatise
by a summary exposing the aspects of ibn Adl n's originality.

* * *
The second chapter comprises the full text of the edited treatise of
ibn Adl n. It opens with a preamble to the editing methodology
adopted (Section 1), which basically conforms to that commonly used
by scholars and the academic community. The treatise is preceded
with a brief description of the manuscript, followed by sample
photocopies of pages from the original (Section 2).
The treatise itself and its English translation represent (Section 3),
with the English translation on the left-hand pages, and the original
Arabic text on the right-hand pages.
The task of editing the manuscript text was a challenge indeed. No
effort has been spared correcting the mistakes and clearing the
confusion.
Special care has been taken to present the text of the treatise in due
form. This includes highlighting ibn Adl n's twenty rules concerning
cryptanalysis, and providing appropriate headings for those which he
did not mark with titles.

Damascus, 2003

Dr. M. Mrayati
Dr. Y. Meer Alam Dr. M. H. Tayyan

10
 Chapter 1

Analytical Study of ibn Adlan's

treatise
al-mu'allaf lil-malik al-'Asraf

11
12
1.1 ibn Adlan's biography
He is Af f ad-D n Al ibn Adl n ibn amm d ibn Al
al-Maw il an-Na w al-Mutar im. He was born in Mosul in AH 583/
AD 1187, received his education in Baghdad, and learnt syntax from a
number of teachers, foremost of whom was Ab al-Baq ' al- Ukbar .
Then he taught the Arabic language for a while and had many
students. He had his class in a - li Mosque in Cairo, where he died
in AH 666/ AD 1268. He was well-known for his intelligence and was
considered a leading figure in literature, besides being a great poet.
Perhaps all of these traits qualified him to be expert at riddles and
cryptanalysis, in which he excelled and for which he dedicated more
than one book.

His works
ibn Adl n's life spanned more than eight decades, during which he
was known for his scintillating wit, his eminence in syntax, and
ingenuity in cryptanalysis. Yet, he turned out very little writing;
sources have cited no more than three books attributed to him. There
are reasons to believe that these sources have certainly skipped some
of his works. For example there was a reference by ibn Adl n in the
twentieth rule of his treatise al-Mu'allaf lil-malik al-'A raf to the
tables included in his book al-Mu lam, regarding algorithms for the
cryptanalysis of a cryptogram containing symbols which are greater or
less in number than the letters of the alphabet.
ibn Adl n has left the following works:
1. al-'inti b lika f al-'aby t al-mu kilat al-'i r b.
2. uqlat al-mu t z f all al-'al z.
3. al-Mu'allaf lil-malik al-'A raf.
4. al-Mu lam.

13
1.2 Study and analysis of ibn Adlan's treatise
al-mu'allaf lil-malik al-'Asraf

The author, Al ibn Adl n an-Na w , had a wealth of practical

experience in cryptanalysis which he called " all al-mutar am". His
experience was due to his contacts with the kings and princes of his
time. His major two books in this field are: al-mu lam and al-mu'allaf
lil-malik al-'A raf, the subject of our present study.
al-mu'allaf is entirely concerned with cryptanalysis. The author
made no attempt to approach the various types and methods of
cryptography, as was the case with al-Kind before, and ibn
ad-Durayhim after him. The work is more of a manual or handbook
than a theoretical book. This is indicated by its designation
al-muqaddima1 (Introduction), and its division into preface, rules and
conclusion, besides its omission in covering methods of cryptography,
as declared by the author: "… I enclose in this treatise some of my
secrets… It contains only laconical words and choice meanings…"2.
This idea is manifested after the conclusion of his treatise, in the
course of addressing his reader as whence practice and exercise are
attained: "Study that downright, use it in similar cases, and practise all
that I have made known to you; for this glimpse , I tell you, is of
utmost advantage in this field…"3. ibn Adl n wrote his treatise as a
response to a request from King al-'A raf, then king of Damascus.

1
See his treatise, p. 40.
2
Ibid., pp. 38-40.
3
Ibid., p. 112.
14
1.3 Structure of the treatise
ibn Adl n divides his treatise into a preface, twenty rules, and a
conclusion. In the interest of facilitating analysis, and clustering topics
of a kind together, we shall break it up into three sections, each of
which is composed of several related topics:
1: Preface, which consists of the following three topics:
1) Cryptanalyst's tools.
2) Examples of encipherment by simple substitution.
3) A study in letter combination for building the Arabic word.
2: Rules in cryptanalysis, which consists of 20 rules that can be
grouped into nine topics, namely:
1) Analytical method for cryptanalysis (Rules 1, 2 and 3).
2) Extracting the "space" (Rule 4).
3) Cryptanalysing the definite article (al ‫ )اي‬and adjacent letters
(Rules 5, 6, and 7).
4) The probable word (Rule 8).
5) The utilization of initial and final letters of words (Rules 9
and 10).
6) The use of double letters or double bigrams (Rules 11, 13,
14, and 15).
7) Cryptanalysing no- word-spacer cryptograms (Rule 12).
8) Cryptanalysing enciphered poetry (Rules 16 and 17).
9) Summary and helpful tips (Rules 18, 19, and 20).
3: Conclusion, which revolves around a single topic, namely practise
and exercise through a practical model example.

1.3.1 Preface
In his preface, ibn Adl n addressed the following three significant
topics:
1. Cryptanalyst's tools:
These are the essential tools considered to be indispensable to the
cryptanalysis, and are mentioned by ibn Adl n in the following detail:
a) Intelligence and perspicacity.
b) Dynamism.
c) Thorough knowledge of language, syntax, morphology, and
structures used.
15
 d) Prosody and rhyme.
e) Frequency of letter occurrence, association and dissociation.
f) Frequency of two-letter and three-letter words in particular.
g) Word spacers.
h) Honorary titles and opening statements (Probable words).
i) Practice and exercise.
j) Familiarity with the numerous methods of encipherment.
2. Examples of encipherment by simple substitution:
ibn Adl n reported, in broad outline, some of the methods of
encipherment, describing simple substitution as: "You inscribe the
plain letters of any language, under which you draw agreed signs.
Using these signs, you then write"4. At this point he elaborated an
issue more fully than al-Kind before him; namely, "space" (al-fa l).
Moreover, he set the term "no- word-spacer" (al-mudma ) to mean
encipherment without the use of space, i.e. absence of symbols
functioning as indicators of spaces between words.
ibn Adl n proceeds to consider the method of simple substitution
(monoalphabetic), citing in each of the following two verses the
Arabic alphabet in such a way as to avoid the repetition of any letter:
1
2
The one represents the alphabet as being made up of 29 letters
(including ‫ ;)ال‬the other of 28 (excluding ‫)ال‬. These verses he named
"the regulators" (a aw be )5, or "key" (al-mift ) in today's
terminology, so called because knowing it leads to easily interpreting
ciphertexts. This point has not particularly been mentioned by al-Kind .
ibn Adl n then stated two methods for utilizing these regulators. The
first is by exercising substitution between every couple of letters in
each of the two verses; thus ‫( ك‬d) is substituted for ‫( ق‬q), ‫ ) ( ط‬for
‫) ( ض‬, and so forth. The other is by substituting for each letter of the
verse one letter of the alphabet respectively in order. It follows, taking

4
See his treatise, p. 42.
5
Ibid., p. 42.
16
the first verse, that ‫ ) ( ا‬would replace ‫( ق‬q), ‫( ة‬b) would replace ‫( ك‬d),
‫( د‬t) instead of ‫) ( ض‬, and so on till the end of the alphabet. Likewise,
taking the other verse, ‫ ) ( ا‬would take the place of ‫) ( ص‬, ‫( ة‬b) the
place of ‫) ( ػ‬, etc.
ibn Adl n indicated the existence of other encipherment methods,
and referred his reader to other works, preferring brevity here, as this
compendium would not abide lengthy details. He said: "Examples of
that are available in sources other than this glimpse"6.
3. A study in letter combination for the conformation of the
Arabic word
This is the third topic of the Preface, termed by ibn Adl n
"at-tar k b" (Structures) in which he treated combination of letters in a
word, referring the reader to such principal Arabic dictionaries as
tah b al-'Azhar and Mu kam ibn S da. He did, however, mention the
structure of bigrams and their association and dissociation in anterior
or posterior positions, and he offered worthy examples for no-word-
spacer cryptanalysis that al-Kind had not given before him.

1.3.2 Rules in cryptanalysis

This section includes the twenty rules, which the author gradually
elaborated. The core of these rules may be summed up in nine topics;
specifically we are more interested here in those distinguishing ibn
Adl n from his predecessor al-Kind , such as the division into three
categories of letters as far as their frequency of occurrence is
concerned, cryptanalysing no-word-spacer cryptograms, the use of
initial and final letters of words, and the emphasis on the use of the
probable word.
However, the predominant characteristic of this chapter is the
profound and clear development of each rule ‫ـــ‬an indication of ibn
Adl n's expertise and absolute command of cryptography as well as
his long experience in cryptanalysis. This point he frequently
proclaimed: "I have broken what had been interpreted…"7, and again,

6
See his treatise, p. 44.
7
Ibid., p. 54.
17
in the context of mentioning the case of encipherment in which
several symbols are used for the "space": "Some of those pursuing this
method of cryptography -with several symbols for the space- allege
that their ciphers can defy detection and analysis. I managed to solve
several messages of this type that I was challenged to solve, and also
two other messages intercepted by some kings…"8. Under the
nineteenth rule he also said: "When you are at a loss in solving the
letter ‫) ( ا‬, you have wrongly solved it as ‫( ي‬y), upon which case I
have happened more times than one"9.
In the following paragraphs we shall review the nine topics that
constitute ibn Adl n's twenty rules:
1) Analytical method for cryptanalysis:
Here ibn Adl n explains the utilization of letter frequency of
occurrence in language, and also the frequency of bigrams and
trigrams, as a method for cryptanalysis. This notion has been covered
in three rules. It seems that in respect of stating the order of letter
occurrence he patterned himself upon al-Kind , so that the numbers he
used for letter frequencies were identical with those determined by
al-Kind , although he never makes the slightest allusion to al-Kind .
But what is really original in his treatment of the subject is the
division of letters, as far as their frequency is concerned, into
abundant, common, and scarce letters as follows:
Order of letters Number Letters
Abundant 7
Common 11
Scarce 10
Total 28
Another original aspect in his presentation is offering a table of the
commonest two- and three- letter words. Far more important is his
reference to the consequence of the length of the cryptogram when

8
See his treatise, p. 58.
9
Ibid., p. 102.
18
using the analytical method. As ibn Adl n puts it: "The length of the
text to be cryptanalysed should be at least in the neighborhood of
ninety letters as a rule of thumb, because the letters thus would have
had three rotations. Yet the number of letters may be less than that in
certain cases"10. He reiterates this idea under the twelfth rule: "I said
the cryptogram should be long enough, since in a short one the order
of letter frequency would no longer be applicable"11.

2) Cryptanalysing the "space":

A "space" or "word-spacer" is the symbol used to denote the end of
a word and the beginning of another. ibn Adl n divides the
encipherment of space into two kinds:
(a) The unified space; i.e. , enciphering it by one and the same
symbol; and
(b) The variable space; i.e. , enciphering it by more than one
symbol. He illustrates the symbols later under the fifth rule by
the following calligraphs:

He restricts himself here -in the fourth rule- to offering algorithms for
cryptanalysing both kinds, emphasizing that this is the first step in
cryptanalysis.

3) Cryptanalysing the definite article (‫ )ال‬and adjacent letters:

ibn Adl n devotes three rules (the fifth, the sixth and the seventh)
for cryptanalysing (‫ = اي‬al) and contiguous letters of common
occurrence. He handles the cryptanalysing method in such a way that
exhibits his full mastery and practical experience in this art. He
mentioned ciphering the definite article, first using two symbols, then
using one symbol only, which, he notes, "are even more problematic
to cryptanalyse".12 He then shifts to discuss the length of a word and

10
See his treatise, p. 52.
11
Ibid., p. 80.
12
Ibid., p. 62.
19
how this ties in with "‫ "اي‬when prefixed to it. This, indeed, is another
original aspect in his treatise.

4) The probable word:

To ibn Adl n, this topic is of paramount importance. Over all other
topics, he believes, this one must take priority: "Honorary titles
-probable words- should have been the first rule to mention. Since I
forgot to do that in due course, I am herein mentioning them…"13. He
explains their meaning, giving examples of such various kinds of
honorary titles as: In the name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful; in Your name, my gracious God (Bismika all humm); etc..
Probable words are used in the same manner, whether they occur in
the opening or closing statements.
He was so keen as to invite the reader's attention to another
significant issue bearing upon the "probable word" concept, namely,
that the cryptanalyst should take pains in fathoming the encipherer's
degree of expertise. Should the latter be found an expert, the
cryptanalyst would have to assume the most intricate possibilities. He
would also have to make an earnest effort in what was designated by
ibn Adl n "surmising the occasion and attending circumstances of
writing the ciphered message, and developing the context"14. He
emphasizes that the cryptanalyst would have to relate the context of
the ciphertext to occasion of writing it, since this may quite well
conduce towards cryptanalysing the message.
The importance of this argument can best be substantiated by the
fact that al- al l ibn 'A mad al-Far h dy had counted on it in
cryptanalysing a cryptogram, and in writing the first book in
cryptography attributed to him. In his abaq t an-Na wiyy n wal-
lu awiyy n (Strata of syntax and language scientists), az-Zubaydy
relates: "It is said that the king of Greece wrote a message to al- al l
in Greek. The latter immured himself for about a month, working on
cryptanalysing it until he succeeded in solving it. al- al l later
commented: 'I presumed the message would of necessity open with

13
See his treatise, p. 66.
14
Ibid., p. 102.
20
the name of God or similar phrases. Accordingly I discovered the first
few letters of the message, which finally yielded to interpretation'.
That was the groundwork of al- al l's book: al-mu amm "15.

5) The utilization of initial and final letters of words:

This topic is covered by the ninth and tenth rules. ibn Adl n draws
attention to such letters often occurring initially in words, as the
conjunction ٚ (w), meaning "and" in Arabic, and the preposition ‫( ن‬k)
denoting resemblance. Likewise, he also noted letters often occurring
terminally such as ‫ ) ( ا‬and ‫( ٘ـ‬h). He gives examples for all these
cases.
It should be pointed out that ibn Adl n's special concentration on
terms like word-spacer, the definite article (‫)اي‬, and the initial and
terminal letters in words, implies that the use of no-word-spacer
cryptograms was a common practice in his days, contrary to the case
during al-Kind 's period.

6) The use of double letters or double bigrams:

In the eleventh, thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth rules, ibn Adl n
puts forward a good group of words which contain a repeated letter in
positions varying from one word to another. Once again, this serves as
an example of his extensive knowledge in the Arabic language, by
delving into myriads of books and dictionaries in order to extract rules
useful in cryptanalysis. It is to be noted that he was the first to write
about the importance of repetitive letters, and their use in
cryptanalysis, linking them with the order of letters (abundant,
common and scarce).
7) Cryptanalysing no-word-spacer cryptograms:
This may be the most original of all the ideas of his treatise. It
appears in Rule 12. Of those who worked on cryptology, none, as far
as we know, had ever paid attention to this topic as ibn Adl n did.
This fact highlights the popularity of no-word-spacer in his time.
He displays the possibilities for each of the Arabic letters to occur
consecutively several times in a text. He reviewed the Arabic alphabet

15
See abaq t an-Na wiyy n wal-Lugawiyy n, p. 51.
21
carefully, stating the possible times for each character to occur this
way and exemplifying his argument as often as necessary.

8) Cryptanalysing enciphered poetry:

Having covered the rules of cryptanalysing prosaic (i.e. non-
metrical) cryptograms, ibn Adl n devotes the sixteenth and
seventeenth rules to cryptanalyse ciphered poetry. The following
principles he considers sine qua non for cryptanalysing poetical
cryptograms:
a. acquaintance with prosody.
b. familiarity with rhyme.
c. knowledge in hemistiches (ta r), and rhyme letter (raw ).
d. the number of letters for each meter.
There is generally nothing in these principles more than what had
already been propounded by al-Kind . Nevertheless, ibn Adl n's
description of their usage is precise, detailed and illustrated.
9) Summary and helpful tips:
The last three rules (18, 19 and 20) include further views that
evince the author's experience in cryptanalysis.
In the eighteenth rule, which he calls "preliminaries to
cryptanalysis"16, he deals with the methodology of cryptanalysis by
considering bigrams in the first place, trigrams secondly, and
tetragrams lastly. He argues for systematic approach to cryptanalysis
by adopting the following sequence of steps towards solution, passing
from the completely unknown to the actual plaintext:
a. the unknown.
b. the wildly guessed.
c. the uncertain.
d. the expected.
e. the known (cryptanalysed plaintext).
Thus, ibn Adl n has specified the levels and stages for breaking a
ciphertext -- the so-called "algorithm" in today's terminology, in
which the "answer" is reached through this measured transition from
an utterly unknown cipher to a known clear text. In his treatise he

16
See his treatise, p. 100.
22
frequently illustrates this algorithm and the progress of its stages by
several examples.
In the nineteenth rule, he offers a practical method for
distinguishing the letter ‫ ) ( ا‬from the letter ‫( ي‬y) in case of confusion.
ibn Adl n concludes his rules with a general account, calling
attention to tables included in his al-mu lam. He reiterates his advice
to cryptanalysts, regarding the assumption of the most intricate
possibilities in the process of cryptanalysing a cryptogram, and
eliciting the appropriate meaning for both the occasion and the
context; namely, the use of the probable-word concept. He then moves
to talk about a type of steganography, asserting that he would allocate
a special study to this kind of encipherment. Steganography was later
treated at length by al-Qalqa andy in his book ub al- A 17.

1.3.3 Conclusion- Practice and exercise

ibn Adl n brings his book to a close by presenting a practical
example, in which he breaks a couple of lines of verse enciphered
using the method of "conceptual relationship and diffusion", where the
relationship is bird species.
In cryptanalysing this example he observes the following
algorithm:
1. Finding number of symbols.
2. Extracting the word-spacer.
3. Utilizing word lengths.
4. Cryptanalysing the letter ‫) ( ا‬, then the letter ‫( ي‬l).
5. Using bigrams.
6. Cryptanalysing the cryptogram.
For each of the above stages the partial results are compared
throughout the entire text.

* * *

17
See ub al-'A a, 9/229 on.
23
1.4 ibn Adlan's Originality
The originality of ibn Adl n, and his distinctive attribute in
cryptanalysis have been basically manifested in the following
unprecedented contributions:
1. He presented the treatise in the form of a practical manual rather
than a theoretical book on cryptanalysis; thus advancing the first
cryptanalysis manual in history.
2. He offered the concept of cryptographic "Keys" or what he
called "regulators" (a - aw bi ) in a line of verse functioning as
a "key".
3. He expanded upon manipulating the "space" by publishing a
detailed description of how to solve a monoalphabetic cipher
with no space or word divisions, there centuries before
G.B.Porta (A.D. 1563). In the West Porta has been considered as
the first to write on cryptanalysing the no-word-spacer
cryptograms18. ibn Adl n also treated cryptanalysing
cryptograms using several symbols for the space, or what he
called "the variable space".
4. He divided letters into abundant, common and scarce according
to their frequency of occurrence.
5. He used word lengths and frequencies of letters in the initial and
final positions of words for cryptanalysis. He also emphasized
the use of two-, three-, and four-letter words respectively, giving
data on each of them.
6. He accorded special care to the "probable word" concept.
7. He made good use of double and triple letters…, double bigrams,
and their frequencies.
In short, the information contained in this treatise is in every sense
worthy of consideration. In fact, his manual remains, even after more
than seven centuries, a useful practical guide to any cryptanalyst
today.

18
See David Kahn's The Codebreakers, p. 138.
24
 Chapter 2

ibn 'Adlan's edited treatise

al-mu'allaf lil-malik al-'Asraf

25
26
2.1 Editing methodology
The main purpose of editing is the reproduction of a text as close to
the author's original as possible. In line with this objective we have
opted for conserving the statement of the original whenever possible.
 No effort has been spared in the interpretation of citations
(Koranic verses, Prophetic traditions, lines of poetry,
sayings, etc.) contained in the treatises. We have given brief
biographical identification of personalities, relegating the
interested reader to such authorities as al-A l m by ayr al-
D n al-Zirkily or Mu am al-mu'allif n by Omar Ri
Ka ala, for further and more detailed biographical
reference. Those citations and personalities that our efforts
fell short of their interpretation or identification have also
been properly recorded.
 In explaining the linguistic terms included in the treatise we
have made use of various dictionaries, old and modern,
foremost of which are: Lis n al- Arab and Matn al-lu a.
Unless otherwise helpful, no reference has been made to
any dictionary.
 We have adopted the same symbols and signs commonly
employed by editors of Arabic manuscripts. We conformed
to the modern spelling norms, and we enclosed requisite
contextual additions -i.e. explanatory insertions and
comments other than the writer's own words- within square
brackets [ ]; examples illustrating rules of encipherment
have been set off by round brackets (parentheses) ( ); book
titles in italics, quoted material and Prophetic traditions
have appeared within quotation marks " ", while floral
brackets   have been used to enclose Koranic verses.19

19
Translator's explanatory additions are placed between pairs of hyphens: -…-.
27
2.2 Description of the manuscript
Ibn 'Adl n's treatise, as stated earlier, is one of several treatises
constituting a large assemblage of papers. The aggregate is made up of
(191) medium-sized sheets covering various topics, among which are
treatises on cryptology found between sheet No.(48) to No.(133)
representing all that is in our possession. Ibn Adl n's treatise occupies
the pages 89/A to 107/B, the handwriting of which varies in size, quality
and number of lines. The average number of lines in each page is
something like 14-15 lines. The assemblage copy is in the stock of the
F ti Library, preserved in as-Sulaym niyya Library in Istanbul under
the number 5359. In the summer of 1980, we had the opportunity to view
this manuscript on the premises. It was not our aim to get a photocopy of
it, because we have already had one courteously presented to us by
Mr. 'A mad Ratib al-Naff , who had theretofore received it from his
good friend Dr. Fu' d Sezgin in Germany as a gift. It should be pointed
out that sheet No.74 of the manuscript in our possession, and perhaps in
the original manuscript, is missing.
The following is a list of the titles of treatises included in the
assemblage, arranged in the order of their appearance, with the number of
the first page of each beside the title:
* treatise of Ab al- asan ibn ab ab : f isti r
al-mu amm - On cryptanalysis - 48/A
* Zubad fus l ibn Dunayn r f all at-tar im - Gist of
ibn Dunayn r's chapters on cryptanalysis - 54/A
* Maq id al-fu l al-mutar ima an all at-tar ama
- Designs of expressive chapters on cryptanalysis - 55/A
* From al- urhum 's book 80/A
* From Al-bay n wattaby n by Ab al- usayn Is q
ibn 'Ibr h m ibn Sulaym n ibn Wahab al-K tib 82/A
* From al- urhum 's treatise 83/A
* From al- A book 87/A
* al-Mu'allaf lil-malik al-'A raf on cryptanalysis 89/A
* The first essay on the summary of cryptanalysis 109/A
* The second essay on cryptanalysing abstruse and
ambiguous ciphers 115/A
* A treatise on the cryptanalysis of poetry, extracted
from the book: Adab a u ar ' 119/B

28
 (Document No. 5359, as-Sulaym niyya Ottoman Archives, Turkey)

29
A photocopy of the first page of ibn Adl n's treatise
A photocopy of the title-page of ibn Adl n's treatise
 (Document No. 5359, as-Sulaym niyya Ottoman Archives, Turkey)
30
A photocopy of the last page of ibn Adl n's treatise A photocopy of the second last page of ibn Adl n's treatise
2.3 al-mu'allaf lil-malik al-'Asraf
on cryptanalysis
(Original Arabic Text and English Translation)

31
 al-mu'allaf lil-malik al-'A raf
on cryptanalysis

Made by
The individual nonpareil authority of knowledge
Sheik Af f ad-D n Al ibn Adl n an-Na w

32
 In the name of God,
The Compassionate the Merciful

Praised be the Lord of grace and favour, granter of eloquence, giver

of intellect and acumen; who is able to conceal the manifest and to

manifest the concealed. Praise be to Him secretly and publicly; and

therefrom I take the safest shelter and protection against deceit and

delusion, like a goodly tree: its root set firm, its branches reaching into

sky.

And God's blessing and peace be upon His Prophet whom He hath

chosen, and upon whom He conferred His divine bestowal; who

stayed steadfast and patient in the face of affliction and misfortune;

who extinguished the fire of hostility and disbelief, and who declared

war on disbelievers and heretics. May God be pleased with the

Prophet's noble house and his courteous, faithful companions, who

positively chose the way unto their Lord.

34
 This addressed to our sultan King al-'A raf Mu affar ad-D n M s ,

may God prosper him and guide his steps and guard him from his

enemies; he who has always been characterized by even-handed

justice, prudence, magnanimity and omnifarious knowledge; who

typifies the statement of our Prophet, blessing and peace be upon him,

that "a sovereign is the shadow of God and His lance on earth". The

shadow is the haven for the afflicted; the lance the means for charging

the enemy and defending the homeland. With benefaction and

munificence his hand is so open beyond measure; at the same time he

is always on the look-out, holding himself in readiness to repulse the

enemy.

36
 Verse:

Of a verity is he on foes so hard;

And yet in leniency is unsurpassed.

Damascus was indeed blessed with becoming under his wing,

under his care and guidance. It is by him that it thrived, and through

his introduction in it of the fascinating everlasting splendours that it

came to be the delight of the eye and taste, the center of attraction, and

the destination of men of light and leading. Thus it merited the

description of being 'a thing of beauty' and a place for every grace.

My wish is to become a member of the retinue of our King. I

have therefore composed this "muqaddima" (Introduction) on

cryptanalysing the interpretation, and called it Al-Mu'allaf lil-malik

al-'A raf, according to my lights. I enclose in this treatise some of my

secrets, and thereby hoping to guard against the vicissitudes of time,

and trying to seek a resort of peace, prestige and opulence with you.

38
 Verse:
When earnest pain hit me in heart and face,
And life got so barren as death;
A gaunt and bleak blossom of scentless breath,
To thee I turned for help and grace!
The book contains laconical words and choice meanings, which I
made to sound like current sayings, and which would redeem any
prolixity in this concern. I pray God, the All-Hearing and Responsive,
that the king may take pleasure in it and find it suitable to his
purposes.

* * *
My Introduction is based on a preface, rules and a conclusion.

[Preface]
Several factors are needed in cryptanalysing an interpreted text
[cryptogram], such as intelligence, lucidity, alertness, linguistics,
syntax, morphology, idioms, knowledge of prosody and rhymes,
frequency of letter occurrence, combination and non-combination of
letters, knowledge of the most frequently used words and those less
used: two- and three-letter words, familiarity with word spacers and
opening honorary expressions, plenty of practice and exercise that
make perfection, and acquaintance with other numerous methods of
interpretation [ciphering].

40
 To encipher, you inscribe the plain letters of any language, under
which you draw agreed signs. Using these signs, you then write
-simple substitution-, adding at the end of each word the sign
indicating a space, when the interpreted text is free from no-word-
spacers. You may encipher without the use of space- i.e. without
utilizing symbols functioning as indicators of spaces between words-.
For example:

Analogous to these symbols are those cipher alphabets

(CA's = calligraphs) currently used in writing. However, what is
expressed by CA's is not Arabic. Ancient CA's may have carried
Arabic, Hindi, etc. signification. They are plaintext, and so are the
regulators [cryptographic keys], as in these two verses:

42
 You may exercise substitution between every pair of letters in each

of the above verses; [thus the letters ‫( ك‬d) may be substituted for the

letter ‫( ق‬q); the letter ‫ ) ( ط‬for ‫) ( ض‬, and so on]. You may also

substitute for each letter of the verse one letter of the alphabet

respectively in order, and consequently, taking the second verse, [the

letter ‫ ) ( ا‬would replace ‫ ;) ( ص‬the letter ‫( ة‬b) would replace ‫;) ( ػ‬

‫( د‬t) in place of ‫) ( ع‬, etc., etc.]

You may also wish to make the number of symbols the same as

that of letters, or less, in which case you would have to make up for

the insufficiency by re-starting right from the beginning. Examples of

this are available in sources other than this glimpse. Various spaces

may be used; and that is more problematic.

The lexical structures are plentiful in the lengthy books of

language, such as: Tah b al-lu a by al-Azhar , al-mu kam by ibn

S da al-Ma rib , An-nasab li a r kal m al- Arab, ibn al- abb n's A -

mil, and others. In the following paragraph we are going to touch on

these structures:

44
 Two-letter words have two structures: either placing the second

letter in pre-position, or the first in post-position; e.g. ‫( عل‬return):

‫( كع‬leave). [Example in English: "on" and "no"]. This is the

determining principle of interpretation irrespective of whether it is an

inherent part of the word itself or part of its alternatives, or part of

neither of them; namely, when the last letter of a word meets the first

letter of the next word. For instance, ‫( اهلل عال‬God is supreme). The

letter ‫( ٘ـ‬h) is non-combinable in anterior position with the letter ‫) ( ع‬,

but it is combinable with ‫ ) ( ع‬in posterior position, as in the example:

‫ل‬ٙ‫ع‬. An example of the other case is ّ‫ ٌُ ٌغط‬, and ‫ٌُ ٔله أْ ععّٕب‬: The

letter ‫ ) ( ط‬does not combine in anterior position directly with the

letter ‫) ( ض‬, but it does in posterior position, as in: َ‫( ظَظ‬shout). The

opposite applies to the letter ‫[ ) ( ؾ‬i.e., it is combinable with ‫ ) ( ط‬in

posterior position]. We say: ّ‫هعً أعؿ‬, a man with a dangling upper jaw.

Letters non-combinable in anterior nor in posterior position are the

following: ً (s), ‫) ( س‬, ‫) ( ض‬, ‫) ( ؾ‬, and ‫) ( ص‬.

* * *

46
 The First Rule
On the Order of Letter Frequency of Occurrence

As far as frequency of occurrence is concerned, some Arabic letters

are ABUNDANT, and these are seven in number, i.e.: (‫) ( ا‬, ‫( ي‬l),
َ (m), ‫( ٘ـ‬h), ٚ (w), ‫( ي‬y), and ْ (n)) [in descending rank]. If the letter
‫ ) ( ا‬occurred in a piece of writing as many times as, say, 600 times, it
has been found as a corollary, that the letter ‫( ي‬l) would occur about
400 times, add or take few, the letter َ (m) 320 times, the letter ‫( ٘ـ‬h)
270 times, ٚ (w) 260 times, ‫( ي‬y) 250 times, and the letter ْ (n) 220
times. This is so in all likelihood, but there may be some variation in
this order.
Some other letters are COMMON in their frequency of occurrence.
These are eleven letters, viz. ‫( ه‬r), ‫) ( ع‬, ‫( ف‬f), ‫( د‬t), ‫( ة‬b), ‫( ن‬k), ‫( ك‬d),
ً (s), ‫( ق‬q), ‫) ( ػ‬, and ‫ ) ( ط‬- also in descending order-. In the piece
of writing assumed above, the letter ‫( ه‬r) would occur 155 times or
thereabouts, the letter ‫ ) ( ع‬138 times, ‫( ف‬f) 122 times, ‫( د‬t) 118, ‫( ة‬b)
and ‫( ن‬k) 112 times each, ‫( ك‬d) 92, ً (s) 86, ‫( ق‬q) 63, ‫ ) ( ػ‬57 and ‫ط‬
( ) 46 times.
SCARCE letters are ten in number; [they are: ‫) ( ؾ‬, ‫) ( غ‬, ‫) ( غ‬,
‫( ى‬z), ‫) ( س‬, ‫) ( ؿ‬, ‫) ( ض‬, ُ ( ), ‫) ( ص‬, and ‫ ) ( م‬- in ascending order
of frequency-]. The letters are brought together in a line of verse, and
represented by the initial letters of its words:

Again, according to the above, the letter ‫ ) ( ؾ‬would occur 8 times,

the letter ‫ ) ( غ‬12 times, ‫ ) ( غ‬15, ‫( ى‬z) 16, ‫ ) ( س‬17, ‫ ) ( ؿ‬20, ‫ ) ( ض‬23,
ُ ( ) 28, ‫ ) ( ص‬32, and ‫ ) ( م‬35 times.
The letters ‫( د‬t) and ‫( ن‬k), however, may on occasion turn to be
abundant in their frequency of occurrence when they are used with the
second person a phenomenon of no small use in the Glorious
Koran. Moreover, the letter ً (s) may, though infrequently, go with
verbs to indicate futurity.

48
 For cryptanalysis, you consider the letters expressed by symbols.
Having found them in accordance with what we have mentioned
above, you expect almost certainly that each order represents a letter.
You then manipulate the symbols, matching them against
corresponding symbols, trying to educe the meaning of the cipher.
Keep on trying until you hit it.

The Second Rule

On the Frequency of Two-Letter Words

Bigrams are: ‫( ال‬l ) (written in two forms), ِِْٓ (min), َِْٓ (man), َْ‫إ‬
(inna), َْ‫( أ‬anna), ْْ‫( أ‬an), ‫( ِب‬m ), ً‫( ف‬f ), ٌُ (lam), ٓ‫ ( ع‬an), ‫( لل‬qad),
(these last two words are equally frequent), ُ٘ (hum), ‫( إم‬i ), ُ‫ص‬
( umma), ً٘ (hiya), ٚ‫( أ‬aw), ٌٛ (law), ‫( ٌب‬y ) (the last two words also
have equal chances of frequency), ‫) ( ما‬, ً‫( و‬kay), ٚ‫) ( م‬, َ‫( ُهة‬rubba)
(these four words are also equally frequent), ْ‫( ُِن‬mu ), َُٓ٘ (hunna), ‫ا‬ٚ
(w ) (these three are less frequent; never used in the Holy Koran,
while the other two-letter words are, and their use in oral conversation
as well as in poetry is scarce). Two-letter words like: ًٌ (l ), ‫( ٌه‬laka)
and ٌٗ (lahu) are known through their order of frequency and also
through itself. As to ْ‫َي‬ٚ (way), it is of really scarce frequency. It is
mentioned in the Holy Koran, S bawayh argues, in the verse:  َُٗٔ‫َيْ وأ‬ٚ
َُْٚ‫ال ٌُفٍِؼُ اٌىبفِو‬ -=Ah, wellaway! The disbelievers never prosper-. This
argument for the use of ‫ي‬ٚ this way is peculiar to S bawayh; other
scholars say otherwise.
The order of two-letter words is the same as they are stated above:
the most frequent is ِِْٓ, then َِْٓ and so on and so forth.
In connexion with three-letter words, they are, in a descending
order of frequency of occurrence, the following: ‫( إٌى‬il ), ‫ ( عٍى‬al ), ‫أٔب‬
(an ), ‫ب‬ٌٙ (lah ), ‫ب‬ٙ‫( ث‬bih ), ‫( أِّب‬amm ), ‫( أَِب‬am ), ‫( ٌَّب‬lamm ), ‫'( إما‬i ),
‫( وّب‬kam ), ‫( ِزى‬mat ), ‫ ( عّّب‬amm ).

50
 The Third Rule
[On the Length of Cryptanalysed Message]

The length of the text to be cryptanalysed should be at least in the

neighborhood of ninety letters as a rule of thumb, because the letters
thus would have had three rotations. Yet, the number of letters may be
less than that in certain cases.
I have broken, among many ciphers, the following cryptogram,
enciphered by T ad-D n al- anaf :
Verses:
With you, wine has a special taste, and the
meeting marvelous glamour.
You promised to come alone; why did you
turn up with a tattler?!
I have also broken the cipher of Ab al- asan Al ibn Abd
al- abb r al-T nis al-Mans :
Verse:
Our time denied us relief in ourselves, but it
relieved us of those whom it loves and honours.
Likewise I have made out the following -anonymous- verse,
interpreted by Mu ammad Mu y ad-D n ibn Af f al- und , alias
Af f al-Aw n :
Verse:
arb's grave is in a wasteland,
with no graves near arb's grave.
I have as well contrived this verse enciphered by Abd al- af r
al-K tib in his presence:
Verse:
It so happens that a man may become wealthy and solvent,
after a time of desperate straits.

52
 I have also cryptanalysed, on the spot, the poetical interpretation of
ibn al-Bi r q al-W si al- ill :
Verses:
ibn Adl n is well-informed in syntax and
cryptanalysis. He's a universal scholar.
These two verses, though of the brachycatalectic light metre
- ma z ' al- af f -, may be looked at as one verse of the long metre
- al- aw l -, seeing that their sum total of letters adds up to forty-seven.
To be noted is that a verse of the long metre may consist of as many as
fifty-nine letters. An example of this is the following verse of my
own:
Verse:
A virtuous man spends his life seeking
an honest living. He's righteous in weal and woe.
Furthermore, I have broken what had been interpreted specially for
me, with no-word-spacer by Al ibn Muwaffaq ad-D n ibn Ya
al-Na w :
Verses:
Look into what I wrote,
for you are skilled in cryptanalysis.

Show it to me, and uncover its secrets,

as you are a man of insight.

54
 In general, if you wish to cryptanalyse an interpreted
[enciphered] text, set down each type of letter symbols; then count all
the types, specifying the number precisely. Arrange types in clusters
of three orders according to their being abundant (‫) ( ا‬, (l), َ (m), etc.
respectively), common (‫( ه‬r), ‫) ( ع‬, etc.), or scarce letters (‫) ( ؾ‬, ‫) ( غ‬,
‫) ( غ‬, etc.). Next, look for two-letter words and three-letter words, and
consider their frequency order, relating each one to its respective
order, such as: ْ‫إ‬, ‫ِب‬, ِٓ, ‫عٍى‬, ‫إٌى‬, trying to approach their signification
now by checking up on orders, now through their suitability to the
expected meaning, until the message makes sense, or else you try over
again, substituting for what you first guessed to be ‫ ) ( ا‬the letter ‫( ي‬l)
and for what you guessed to be َ (m) the letter ‫( ي‬l), and so with the
rest until all seven abundant letters are exhausted. Then you move to
the common letters, of which you start looking, first of all, for the
letters: ‫( د‬t) and ‫( ن‬k), since their frequency of occurrence exceeds
that of other common letters, especially when used with the second
person, such that they often tend to go with the abundant letters. Then
you consider the letter ‫( ه‬r), etc. to the last of common letters. You do
the same with the scarce letters, exercising exchange among letters, as
you did with the abundant letters, seeking to obtain intelligibility. If,
in one word, two or more letters remain intractable they are traced
back individually to the scarce letters, and thus forming meaningful
words. You do this over and over again, changing letters, until the
word comes right.

56
 The Fourth Rule
[On Spacers]

This rule should have more rightly been marked the first. It treats
of the word-spacer –the symbol used to denote a blank between every
two words.
If the interpretation is "spaced" out using a unified space –i.e.
enciphering it by one symbol only-, cryptanalysis will be easier, and
can be accomplished in two ways: (a) through observing in the
cryptogram the symbol that is most recurring; and (b) through its
recurrence at intervals that are believed to bound words. Notice that
some words may be long, some others are short but of frequent
occurrence. (This point will be elaborated later on.) Take all that into
consideration. Then look into what you expect are the beginnings and
ends of words. Having arranged the (‫' ا‬s), you are now fairly sure that
what you supposed to be a space is most likely so. Remember,
however, that a space is sometimes intentionally meant to be
concealed beside a letter that may be mistaken for a space. You had
rather give heed to that possibility. Examine the proximity of (before
and after) the space carefully and you will detect the word-spacer,
God willing.
On the other hand, if the variable space is used in the interpretation
[i.e. the space enciphered by several symbols], cryptanalysis gets very
problematical indeed. Some of those pursuing this method of
cryptography allege that their ciphers can defy detection and analysis.
I managed to solve several messages of this type that I was challenged
to solve, and also two other [encrypted] messages intercepted by some
kings. The first cryptogram I cryptanalysed was intercepted by His
Majesty King s , son of King Ab Bakr ibn Ayy b; the other for his
son, King an- i , who got hold of it from some frontiers.

58
 The algorithm is to look for the symbol that you believe all-likely
to be ‫) ( ا‬. The following letter you assume to be ‫( ي‬l). If the expected
‫ ) ( ا‬is regarded as the first letter of a word, the preceding letter would
most probably be a space. Consider the feasibility of that in several
other places of the cryptogram. If not proved feasible consider the
letter following the assumed word-spacer, since the definite article (‫)اي‬
is liable to be preceded by one of four letters (to be tackled later). You
rely on word-beginnings, considering the (‫'ا‬s) especially at front or
end positions of words, and assuming word-spacers anterior to the
first, and posterior to the last letters of words.

The Fifth Rule

On the Cryptanalysis of the Letters (‫)ل( & )ا‬
[i.e. the definite article]

This rule is a staple aid in cryptanalysis. The algorithm is to define

the word-spacer and then to look into initial letters of words. If you
see two frequent forms which you tend to believe are the first two
letters of a word (provided the cryptogram is of a fairly reasonable
length), you then have good reason to assume that those two letters are
‫ ) ( ا‬and ‫( ي‬l). Consider identical forms elsewhere in the cipher until
you make it out all of it; otherwise you try another access. Now to
cryptanalyse a cryptogram with no-word-spacers, you consider every
couple of combinable letters right through, according to the above
condition, attempting flexibly to guess the words themselves.
Determine that the two combinable letters are ‫ ) ( ا‬and ‫( ي‬l).
Remember that in no-word-spacer cryptograms, the definite article (‫)اي‬
is not infrequently confused with: ِٓ (min), ٓ‫ ( ع‬an), ً‫( ف‬f ), ‫ ( عٍى‬al ),
and suchlike. Watch that out!

60
 The letters ‫ ) ( ا‬and ‫( ي‬l) [i.e. the definite article], when enciphered
both using one form [i.e. one symbol], are even more problematic to
cryptanalyse. The algorithm (for cryptanalysis) is to look for one form
recurring at the beginning of words, and which you tend to think is
(‫)اي‬. Then you look elsewhere in the cryptogram for the letter ‫ ) ( ا‬and
for the letter ‫( ي‬l) individually, and cryptanalyse them, assigning a
distinctive mark to the form representing either letter. Try then to
cryptanalyse the next, and guess its meaning through the way you
articulate the word in the light of the preceding and the following
context. Otherwise you look into the symbol itself. If the word
represented is a two-letter word, you try to hit it by analogy, matching
against similar instances in several places of the cryptogram until it
gets out.
You must also consider the letter ‫( ي‬l) elsewhere in the cryptogram.
If a form is guessed to be ‫( ي‬l), look into the form you have already
taken as ‫) ( ا‬. Any augmentation to the ‫( ي‬l) form should be expected
as ‫( ي‬l) of the definite article, as this would be more precise. I have
seen several forms such as this one, for example ( ) for the letter
‫( ي‬l) and ( ) for the letter ‫) ( ا‬. Indeed I have seen this in many
ciphers. In addition, the variable space can be enciphered by several
symbols, such as the following calligraphs: ( ), ( ), ( ), and ( ).
Observe this carefully and you will find it out, Deo volente.

62
 The Sixth Rule
On the Quantitative Identification of
Every Word with Definite Article

I tell you that any such word consists of at least two letters
[exclusive of the definite article], e.g. ‫اٌني‬, ً‫اٌز‬, ّ‫اٌّو‬, ّ‫اٌجو‬, ّ‫اٌوة‬, ّ‫اٌؾت‬, ّ‫اٌنه‬,
ّ‫اٌشظ‬, provided that they are not suffixed by the letter ‫( ي‬y). The
majority of these words are [seven] and eight-letter words, e.g.
ٍٓ‫ِصؽٍؾ‬, ‫ِصؽٍؾبد‬, ٍٓ‫َِزقوع‬, ‫َِزقوعبد‬. A little less frequent are words
that do not admit the definite article, e.g.  , which is a

ten-letter word. The rest may be either fourteen-letter words, such as:
‫٘ب‬ّٛ‫أفجَزصالؽى‬, or eleven-letter words, which are really ample, such as:
‫ب‬ٙٔٛ‫أرَزقوع‬, ‫ب‬ٙٔٛ‫رَزٕجؽ‬ٚ. These words will be found of great use in
educing word-spacers, such as in the case of the existence of
numerous forms that could mislead you as to believe it is not a word,
or the case of a space that you may have wrongly guessed. So keep
mindful, and do not neglect this rule; it is very rewarding in this
science; and the failure to master it is adverse to accurate
cryptanalysis.

64
 The Seventh Rule
[On the Four Letters Preceding the Definite Article]

The letters preceding the definite article ‫( اي‬al) may be one of four
letters, viz., in descending order of occurrence: ٚ (w), ‫( ة‬b), ‫( ن‬k), and
‫( ف‬f). Thus a letter prior to the definite article must perforce be one of
them. You should think flexibly and look for identical elements
elsewhere in the cipher, seeking to acquire intelligibility and
coherence of meaning. Indeed, some cryptograms are unveiled this
way. On the other hand, two of the above letters may possibly precede
the definite article; for example the letter ٚ (w) and ‫( ة‬b) as in: ( ‫ثبهلل‬ٚ);
or ٚ (w) and ‫( ن‬k) as in: ( ّ‫وبٌلّه‬ٚ); or ‫( ف‬f) and ٚ (w) as in: ( ‫اهلل‬ٛ‫ ;)ف‬or
‫( ف‬f) and ‫( ة‬b) as in: (‫)فجبهلل‬, which is the rarest.

The Eighth Rule

On Introductory Expressions and Honorary Titles

Honorary titles [probable words] should have been the first rule to
mention. Since I forgot to do that in due course, I am herein
mentioning them. Examples of honorary titles include: In the name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful; in your name, my gracious
God (this was a common pre-Islamic opening); that which Allah
willeth will come to pass; all power appertaineth wholly to God; from
God I take my help; praise be to Him who deserveth praise; all favour
belongeth to God; God preserveth /helpth; my trust is in God; etc.
Such expressions, if used as openings of messages and identified as
honorary titles, will facilitate cryptanalysis beyond measure.
Similarly, there are such closing honorary statements as: God's
blessing and peace be upon our prophet Mu ammad and his folk, God
being willing, and Peace be upon you.

66
 The Ninth Rule
[On Letters Occurring Initially in Words]

This rule relates to the possible confusion, at initial position in

words, of a conjunction ٚ (w) and the letter ‫ ) ( ا‬on the one hand, with

the letters ‫ ) ( ا‬and ‫( ي‬l), namely the definite article, on the other hand,

as in the following verse of Ab a - ayyib al-Mutanabb :

Verse:
Horsemanship, night, desert, and all know who I am.
Nay, manners, war, magnanimity and letters are among my qualities.

And in the following verses from the Holy Koran:

 

-= By the sun and his brightness, and the moon when she followeth

him, and the day when it revealeth him-, etc. So be mindful.

Also ambiguous are things like: ًٌٍٍ‫ ثب‬and ًٌٍٍ‫وب‬. Here you may

mistake ( ‫ )ثب‬and ( ‫ )وب‬for the definite article, and thus you should keep a

good look-out thereat. In case of any ambiguity, apply the rules I have

told you and match against identical instances until you hit the mark,

Deo volente.

68
 The Tenth Rule
On Letter Occurring Terminally [in Words]

Know that if the final letters of words were (‫'ا‬s), the preceding

letters would most likely be ( ‫'٘ـ‬s), e.g. ‫ب‬ٍِٙ‫أوو‬, ‫ب‬ٙ‫إٔ٘ز‬, and, from the

Glorious Koran:   -= By the sun and

his brightness, and the moon when she followeth-. So consider that.

Less likely, they could be (ْ's) such as: ‫أووِٕب‬, ‫عٍّٕب‬, and the following

Koranic verse:

 

-= Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or miss the mark-. Be

heedful enough: use common sense and approximation, and match

against similar forms elsewhere in the cryptogram, and you are in line

for cryptanalysis, God willing.

70
 The Eleventh Rule
On Compound Words of the Same Order

By this I mean a word with a letter repeated, and the repeated letter
could at times be the whole word, such as the repetition of the letter
"‫ "ا‬in the word ‫ آأٍغل‬of the Koranic verse:  -
=Shall I fall prostrate before that which Thou hast created of clay?-,
which may be written with three ‫'ا‬s ( 's). The repetition of two ‫'ة‬s
(b's) in one word is not common except in combination with the letter
‫( د‬t) signifying feminine gender. Examples: ‫( ثجّخ‬babbah: a sound/pet
name of a plump and healthy-looking boy or youth), ٌ‫( كك‬dad
(noun)=play(ing)), ٌٍْ ِ (sis: imperative of s sa=to manage). The
repetition may consist of two orders with a third element, e.g. ٍ‫( أآد‬i.e.
a deverbative noun derived from the verb at = to come + the
interrogative particle "hamza"),
‫( أإما‬i.e. i = if, when + the interrogative particle),
َ‫( أأى‬i.e. azza = to push + the interrogative particle),
ًَ‫( أأ‬i.e. uss = base, foundation, groundwork + the particle),
َ‫( أآض‬i.e. a = to turn or become + the interrogative hamza),
َ‫( أأغ‬i.e. a a = (of a camel) to groan under load + hamza),
ّ‫( أأف‬i.e. uff = expression of boredom or displeasure + hamza),
‫أأي‬,
َ‫أأ‬,
ْ‫أإ‬,
ٖ‫( أآ‬i.e. h = expression of pain or agony + hamza),
ٚ‫( أأ‬i.e. aw = or + the interrogative particle),
‫( أأي‬i.e. ay + the interrogative particle), etc.

Proper acquaintance with these possibilities is lucrative in

cryptanalysing cryptograms. When you meet with two ‫'ا‬s ( 's), the
following letter may well be one of those stated above, and thus
cryptanalysis would be made much easier.

72
 For the case when the two repeated orders were ‫'ة‬s (b's), followed

by other letters, here are a few examples: ٍ‫ثجذ‬, ٍ‫ثجش‬, ٍ‫ثجـ‬, ٍ‫ثجل‬, ٍ‫ثجو‬, ٍ‫ثجي‬, ٍ‫ثجط‬,

ٍ‫ثجػ‬, ٍ‫ثجك‬, ًٍ‫ثج‬, ٍُ‫ثج‬, ًٍ‫ثج‬, etc. I have dilated much upon this point in my book

al-mu lam, which I wrote for al-Im m al-Mustan ir, peace be on his

soul.

Other examples of letters repeated in one word include: (A) without

another letter in between –i.e. the letter doubled- : ‫ٌال‬, ٌٍُ, ‫هلل‬, ٌٍٛ, ًٌٍ, ٌٍٓ

in a formal context, with the exception of (‫ )هلل‬which is frequent and in

common use. Also: ‫ِّّب‬, ًِّّ, َِّٓ, ‫ا‬ٚٚ, ‫ي‬ٚٚ, ‫ي‬ٚٚ, ٌٍٓ20, ًََْٕٔ (derived from

"to obtain"), ََُْٕٔ (from "to sleep"), ََْٕٗٔ (from "to prevent"), ًٕٔ, ً‫ُٕٔؽ‬21.

20
Name of a valley. This is the sole example in Arabic of a three-letter word, the
first and second letters of which being (‫)ي‬. (See Mu am al-Buld n 5/454).
21
Nun : from na (verb) = (a) to stretch out (rope, etc.). (b) to keep silent. The verb
na is a variant of = to give.

74
 (B) with another letter in between: ‫إال‬, ‫أِب‬, ‫أ٘ب‬, ‫ا‬ٚ‫أ‬, ‫أٌب‬, ‫أٔب‬, ‫الي‬, ًٌّ, ًٌٙ,

ًٌٍ, ٍُِ, ُِٙ, َِٛ, ٍُِ, ّٓٔ, ٍَِٓٔ (from "to be lenient"), َُْٓٙٔ (from "to be low"),

ُٓ‫ٔئ‬, ٍٗ٘, ّٗ٘, ٖٛ٘, ٍٗ٘, ٚ‫ا‬ٚ, ٌٛٚ, ٛ٘ٚ, ٛٔٚ, ًٌٍ, ًٌّ, ًٌٙ, ًٌٕ, ُّٓٔ (from "to

favor").

In some other instances you get a word in which the repeated letter

does not occur in succession with its fellow letter, but separated form

it by another intervening letter doubled in succession, e.g. -"alifs"

repeated but separated, with the letter َ‫" ال‬lam" repeated in between-,

, , .

Another possibility is to have a letter closely repeated thrice, and

enclosed on each side by another letter separately repeated. Examples:

, , (diminutive of "night"), (diminutive of (m)).22

22
These examples, as a matter of fact, are not really illustrative of this case, but
rather of the one immediately preceding.

76
 As for 23… …

And (‫ِّب‬, ‫هلل‬, ‫إٕٔب‬ٚ, ًٕٔ‫إ‬ٚ, ‫اهلل‬ٚ, ٌٍُٙ‫ا‬ٚ) and the like. Familiarity with these

tools is indeed helpful in cryptanalysis, so that if one or two abundant

letters of a three-letter word were cryptanalysed, the cryptogram

would come out all at once, and cryptanalysis would be much

accelerated. The same applies in the case where a scarce on common

letter is enclosed, in a three-letter word, by an abundant letter

repeated; examples: ‫إما‬, ‫أفب‬, ‫أثب‬, ٓ‫ٔؾ‬, ٓ‫ٔى‬, ُ‫ِع‬, َُِ. Conversely, an

abundant letter may occur in between the two identical parts of a

common or scarce letter repeated, as in the examples: ‫ك‬ٚ‫ك‬, ًٍٛ; ُٛ‫ش‬,

‫غبء‬ٛ‫غ‬. Such is common in the language, and is worthy of note.

23
Text interrupted at this point, and a blank line follows in the original.

78
 The Twelfth Rule
On Cryptanalysing No-Word-Spacer Cryptograms

This requires you to find the order of frequency of letters. In case

the message is long enough, you can determine that it is a no-word-
spacer cryptogram if the number of characters is found equal to that of
letters. I said the cryptogram should be long enough, since in a short
one the order of letter frequency would no longer be applicable. Also
if, in a long cipher, the character between each two words is not
frequently recurring, you sample groups of letters. Finding two
characters which you guess as ‫'ا‬s ( 's), you assume the first is at
terminal position of a word and the other is at initial position of the
next word. This is because, in Arabic, more than two ‫'ا‬s ( 's) do not
normally go together this way, such as: ‫( عبء آفو‬another came) and
َ‫( شبء آك‬Adam wished)24, although some linguists did write such
sentences using four ‫'ا‬s ( 's). Regarding the letter ‫( ة‬b), it can possibly
occur four consecutive times at the most, as in: ‫أؽجتْ ثجىو‬, and so can
the letter ‫( د‬t), as in: ًٌ‫ٍىزذ رزّب‬. Three times of consecutive
occurrence is even commoner. The letters ‫( ي‬y), ‫) ( ط‬, ‫) ( ػ‬, ‫ ) ( ؿ‬can
each occur consecutively three times, but twice is commoner. The
letter ‫( ك‬d) may also occur consecutively as many as four times; an
example: َِٗٔ‫علَكُ كَك‬.Yet three times of repetition is more frequent. Al-
Bula –a linguist, poet and historian-, peace be on his soul, affected a
line of poetry in which he used nine consecutive ‫'ك‬s (d's), namely,

24
By the two alifs is meant the terminal "hamza" of ‫ عبء‬and ‫شبء‬, and the initial
"hamza" of ‫ آفو‬and َ‫آك‬.

80
 The word ‫( كك‬dad) is used in this verse with different senses: once
as a proper name of person in the vocative case, with the vocative
particle ( ‫ )ٌب‬omitted, and once as a name of particular place. Needless
to say, this is affectation.
This last-mentioned sense of the word (dad) appears in a verse
written by arafa ibn al- Abd -a first-rate pre-Islamic poet-:

The word (dad) may also mean: trifling or frivolity, as in the

following " ad " of the tradition of Prophet Mu ammad, God's
blessing and peace be upon him: "I do not appertain to (dad), nor doth
(dad) appertain to me".
As concerns the letters ‫) ( م‬, ‫( ه‬r), ‫( ى‬z), ً (s), ُ ( ), ‫) ( ص‬, ‫) ( ض‬
and ‫) ( غ‬, three times of consecutive occurrence is possible, but twice
is by far more frequent. The letter ‫ ) ( ؾ‬has greater possibility of
occurring twice consecutively, and thrice is much less common. The
letters ‫ ) ( ع‬and ‫ ) ( غ‬may well occur twice each of them, whereas the
letter ‫( ف‬f) four successive times, e.g. ; the letter ‫( ق‬q) three

times, e.g. . Five consecutive ‫'ن‬s (k's) are possible, as in:

, yet four times successive occurrence is still

commoner. Al-Bula , again affected two verses, in the second of

which he massed nine ‫'ن‬s (k's) continuously:
82
 ‫ ( اٌعوي‬aral) = sailor in Egyptian dialect.
‫( اٌىىىخ‬kukaka) = (plural the same) type of ships.
To move to other letters of the Arabic alphabet, we mention that
the letters ‫( ي‬l), َ (m) and ْ (n) may each occur four consecutive times
at most, the letter ‫( ٘ـ‬h) three times; while five times for the letter ٚ
(w), as in: ‫هي‬ٌٚٚٚٚٛ, ً‫ؽ‬ٚٚٚٚٛ‫ؼ‬, though its succession four times is
commoner in Arabic. As for ‫( ال‬l ), it can occur four times
successively, e.g. ً‫ رألأل ألألح‬and َ‫إمالالً ال ألفٍه‬. The letter ‫( ي‬y) has a
maximum possibility of four times, e.g. ; commoner, three
times.
Now when you define the ‫'ا‬s ( 's) in a cipher, you see whether they
are in front or end position of words. If found ample at end position,
the characters immediately preceding, being also ample, will most
probably be either the letter ‫( ٘ـ‬h) or the letter ْ (n). You then look for
similar cases as you proceed with cryptanalysis.
You are also required to fix the number of times each character is
repeated and see to the order of letter frequency in the cryptogram.
Try also to gather letters that make sense together, and review time
and again what you have had so far, in line with the instructions given
in the rule prior to this one; examples such as ِّّٓ, ‫إٔٔب‬, etc. Pay special
attention to the couple of letters: ‫ ) ( ا‬and ‫( ي‬l), with their two
possibilities of collocation in relation to each other. Fully comprehend
that I have told you and ponder on it until it works out, Deo volente.

84
 The Thirteenth Rule
[On a Word's Initial Letter Repeated Twice]

This rule treats of the case in which individual words are obtained
by cryptanalysis, with a letter repeated twice at initial position of each
word. Except for a word like ْ‫كك‬, the letter repeated must necessarily
be one of the following letters: ‫) ( ا‬, ‫( ة‬b), ‫( د‬t), ‫( ف‬f), ‫( ن‬k), ‫( ي‬l), َ
(m), ْ (n), ‫( ال‬l )25, or ‫( ي‬y) no doubt. Awareness of this is really
useful and time-saving as it spares the cryptanalyst quite a lot of
brainwork. Thereupon you attend to the order of these double letters,
i.e. whether they are abundant, common or scarce, and work
accordingly. This applies when the characters of the cryptogram are
on a par with its letters.

The Fourteenth Rule

[On a Word's Terminal Letter Repeated Twice]

This is about a word cryptanalysed and identified from the

preceding and following words, with a letter repeated twice at
terminal position. The repeated letter may be any one of the alphabet,
with less likelihood for some, such as the letters: ‫ ) ( ع‬and ‫ ;) ( غ‬and
more likelihood for some others, foremost of which are: ‫( ي‬l), َ (m),
ْ (n), ‫( ٘ـ‬h), ٚ (w) (less likely than ‫( ٘ـ‬h)), ‫( ة‬b), ‫( د‬t), ‫) ( س‬, ‫( ف‬f) and
‫( ه‬r). You can turn this rule to full advantage if you attend to it
properly. It is also applicable when the characters of the cryptogram
are equal in number to its letters.

25
Just so in the original; but considering that two consecutive (‫'ال‬s) never occur
initially in an Arabic word, the double letter may correctly be (ٚ).

86
 The Fifteenth Rule
[On Identical Vocables]

Examples of identical vocables include: ٌٌٛٛ, ‫ٍجَت‬, ‫لولو‬, ‫عوعو‬, ‫٘ل٘ل‬,

‫لجمت‬. Some of these words may cause ambiguity especially in
cryptanalysing no-word-spacer cryptograms. In the example: ‫ رٕؾٕؼ‬the
letter ‫( د‬t) may be confused with a conjunction. You guess what
follows such as , and also and ( ). It is worthy, therefore,

to be particularly mindful of such words, as attention will save a lot of

mental exertion.

The Sixteenth Rule

[On Cryptanalysing Poetry]

Cryptanalysing poetical cryptograms calls for knowledge, on the

part of the cryptanalyst, of prosody and rhyme. Poetry may be made
clear through cryptanalysing openings introducing poetry -such as:
"the poet says, "etc.- or through hemistichs -ta r- and rhyme letters
-raw - being in accord. It may also show through the preceding letter
believed to be "raw ".
Prosody is helpful in measuring a division which you estimate to
belong to a specific metre. Thus you pick up a word having the same
measure and suggestive of the sense intended in that context. Besides,
this would promote chances of spontaneously uncovering other words,
and helps in their cryptanalysis.

88
 It should be pointed out that knowing the number of letters for each
metre makes access easier. Each of the two metres: a - aw l and
al-bas has a number of characters ranging between forty and fifty.
Should the characters be found forty, more or less, the metre would
probably be one of the following metres: a - aw l, al-mad d, al-bas ,
al-k mil, al-w fir, perfect ra az, perfect ramal, perfect sar ,
al-munsari , al- af f, perfect mutaq rib …26 . Thirty characters or
thereabouts suggest brachycatalectic mad d, al-bas , square k mil,
al-w fir, al-haza , ar-ra az, ar-ramal, as-sar , al- af f, al-mu ra ,
al-mu ta and al- mutaq rib. If the number is found a little upwards of
ten characters, this indicates certain varieties of poetical metres, such
as the curtailed munsari and ra az. No less than two-unit lines are
ever heard to have been said by Arab poets. An example from
al-munsari :
Verse:
Was there a sense of amiability,
when they met in Solaf.
And from ar-ra az:
Verse:
If only I were a youth,
to jump and disport myself.

26
A space occupied by an illegible word in the original Arabic manuscript.

90
 In fact a one-unit verse was developed at a later stage to
demonstrate that the existence of rhyme letter in every unit is not
impossible. At no time has the one-unit verse been inherent in Arab
poetical measures. Examples:
Verse:
How splendid the moon is.
What an early rain that
lend life to humans.
(Salm al- sir)
Verse:
His vision came over
apace from far away.
(ibn al-Muna im)
Verse:
Your abandonment took away
sleep from my eyes.
(My own inditement)
To the best of my belief, drawing on poetic metres does not help
further in cryptanalysis beyond this limit.

92
 The Seventeenth Rule
[On Rhyme]

Rhyme is practically considered a far-reaching principle and a

more advantageous directive towards cryptanalysis than prosody27,
inasmuch as the linkage letter is a useful guidance, e.g. ( ).
The surplus character ‫( ي‬y) would serve as an indication that the
rhyme letter "raw " is actually the letter immediately preceding; thus
you learn that it must be one of the three letters: ‫) ( ا‬, ٚ (w) or ‫( ي‬y).
Next, you try to ponder deeply and flexibly, considering that the letter
‫ ) ( ا‬is frequently used such as in: ( , , ) - the so-called alif
al-i l q in Arabic poetry-, or in combination with other letters, as in:
( ) or ( ). There may be something of confusion between
( , , ) on the one hand, and ( ) on the other. A further
example is the two rhyming words: ( ) and ( ) of the couple of
verses -by Al ibn Ya an-Na aw , already quoted in the third rule
of this treatise-. Similarly, and more frequently than ‫) ( ا‬, the letter
ٚ (w) may function as link-up between the rhyme and the preceding
letter, i.e. the rhyme letter; for instance, ( ) with ( ), and ( )
with ( ). Most frequent of all is the letter ‫( ي‬y); for example, ( )
with ( ).
Guidance to cryptanalysis may also be sought through linkage
-wa l- and exit - ur -. In the examples: , , the letter َ (m) is
the rhyme letter -raw -, the letter ‫( ٘ـ‬h) is the linkage, while the letter
‫ ) ( ا‬is the exit.

27
Readers interested in deeper and more detailed treatment of rhyme in poetry are
referred to ibn Dunayn r's treatise Maq id al-fu l al-mutar ima an all
at-tar ama; sheets 71/B-72/A.

94
 The relief letter -ridf-, can lend further guidance to cryptanalysis.
This is the letter immediately prior to the rhyme letter, provided that it
is one of the three letter: (‫) ( ا‬, ٚ (w), or ‫( ي‬y)). Examples: ( ‫ٌغٍت ؽجٍت‬,
‫ة لعٍت‬ٚ‫ٔن‬, ‫)هلبة لجبة‬. You realize the letter ‫ ) ( ا‬when enciphered
independently of any other letters, but it may assume different
representation when it occur in connection with another letter. For
example, the ‫ ال‬- i.e. ‫ ا‬+ ‫ ي‬- in the word ( ‫ )ؼالة‬may sometimes be
represented by a single character. The letter ٚ (w) and ‫( ي‬y) may be
used either deliberately or haphazardly. Other letters may occur of
necessity. That is why you should take particular heed when in doubt,
and check up on similar instances as the case may be.
As for the other "ridf" letters, i.e. (ٚ (w) and ‫( ي‬y)), the target letter
may be either of them, or other letters like (‫ ال‬+ ‫)ا‬, as in (‫ىالي‬, ‫)علاي‬.
The benefit of this distinction is obvious in this art, as it limits the
range of choices exclusively to these two letters, ruling out other
possibilities. Such being the case, you consider similar instances in the
poetical cryptogram, and thereof seek articulation according to
context.
The so-called basal (‫ )ا‬-alif at-ta's s- is another parameter actively
promotive of cryptanalysing poetry. In the word ‫ اٌّؽبٌت‬of the
following second hemistich:

the letter ‫ ) ( ا‬is basal, the letter ‫( ة‬b) is the rhyme letter -raw -, and
the letter ‫( ي‬l) extraneous. Examples of the kind show the letter ‫) ( ا‬
being mostly basal, whether deliberately or haphazardly. The
following verse, written by ibn al- u ayn in Damascus, God
safeguard it, is a case in point:

96
 Here the letter ‫( ق‬q) in the words ٗ‫اللؽ‬, ٗ‫ رَبلؽ‬may be misconstrued
as basal, the letter ‫ ) ( غ‬extraneous, and ‫( ٘ـ‬h) the rhyme letter; but not
so. Actually the letter ‫ ) ( ا‬is the basal letter, ‫ ) ( غ‬the rhyme letter,
‫( ق‬q) extraneous, and ‫( ٘ـ‬h) linkage. You act in the light of the
mainstream of the so-far cryptanalysed part of the cryptogram, and
single out the letter ‫ ) ( ا‬therefrom. This is very useful in the
cryptanalysis of poetry.
You should also be aware of the fact that several forms with
common features may be found at the end of a verse. For instance:

Here we have four letters in one word - ‫ب‬ٍٙ‫ِؾ‬, ‫ب‬ِٙ‫ِمب‬, etc.-. The first
will most likely be ‫) ( ا‬, and so will the last form, of necessity. You
also expect that the letter immediately preceding the last ‫ ) ( ا‬will
probably be either ‫( ٘ـ‬h) or ْ (n), as you have already known. You
then work on the rhyme letter "raw ", trying to elicit it by means of
matching up with identical forms. There may be minor differences
concerning the first letter, as you have seen with ( ٗ‫ )اللؽ‬above. Try to
understand that! It is really worthwhile, and remember that it is the
first that you have to work on.

98
 The Eighteenth Rule
Preliminaries to Cryptanalysis
Know that the cryptanalyst embarks on an arduous task indeed.
TWO-LETTER WORDS: Each letter of a two-letter word is to be
reiterated twice in the alphabet. The first letter is unfolded by the agency
of the algorithms already covered, and the other is sought through
checking against every letter of the alphabet, and so taking up that makes
sense and ruling out that does not.
Example: In the word ( ‫" )ِب‬m ", having cryptanalysed the ‫) ( ا‬, you
now experiment with every letter of the alphabet thus: ‫ثب‬, ‫رب‬, ‫صب‬, …etc.,
guided by similar instances, and correcting the meaning until you score a
success; and it did happen that two-letter words were worked out this
way.
THREE-LETTER WORDS: If all three letters of a three-letter word are
unknown, you try to cryptanalyse one of them following the algorithms
previously mentioned, otherwise you try to find out whether one letter of
the three-letter word agree -in form- with an already cryptanalysed letter
from another word. If that is the case, you examine the two remaining
forms and see whether either of them agrees with the form of letter just
solved.
(a) If so, the only remaining letter you now check against the alphabet,
letter by letter, and adopt the one that proves intelligible, considering
identical and similar instances from other words in the cipher, until it
turns out well.
(b) If not, you look for similar instances elsewhere in the cryptogram,
and work out the unsolved letter in the light of those already solved.
You then combine the so-far known -i.e. cryptanalysed-with the
expected; the expected with the uncertain; and the uncertain with the
wildly or remotely guessed. The rest are identified against the letters of
the alphabet individually, by which means intelligible letters are singled
out and adopted. Other three-letter words are measured by the same
standard as before. Having found the expected in coherence with the
known, all will come out at once.
FOUR-LETTER WORDS: The algorithm for cryptanalysing these words
is basically no different from that used for three-letter words; i.e.
deducing the unknown from the known, the uncertain from the expected,
and the wildly guessed from the uncertain. Bear in mind that your aim
should always be comparing similar cases towards cryptanalysis.
100
 The Nineteenth Rule
[On the Letter (‫" )ي‬y" at the End of Words]
The letter ‫( ي‬y) is copiously used in Arabic with verbs in the
present tense, e.g. ًِٕ‫( ٌىو‬to honor me), ًٍّٕ‫ٌع‬. (to inform me). When
you are at a loss in solving the letter ‫) ( ا‬, you have wrongly solved it
as ‫( ي‬y), upon which case I have happened more times than one. In
addition, when you have cryptanalysed a terminal ‫( ي‬y) in a no-word-
spacer cryptogram, the letter immediately preceding will most likely
be ْ (n).

The Twentieth Rule

General
It should be well known to you that the forms used in a cipher
message may be greater or less in number than the letters represented.
Algorithms for cryptanalysing such cryptograms are elaborated in
tables included in my book al-mu lam, as they are such that cannot be
covered in a resumé the size of this. We have recourse to the first
seven letters since these are combinable with every letter [of the
alphabet]; also we have recourse to the first six letters. All in all, it is
very problematic indeed.
You [as a cryptanalyst] would have to fathom the encipherer's
degree of expertise. Should he be found an expert, you would have to
assume the most intricate possibilities, for he is certainly conscious of
that. You would also have to make an earnest effort in surmising the
occasion and the attending circumstances of writing the ciphered
message, and developing the context. You then enter upon educing the
connotations appropriate for both occasion and context, until it is laid
open, God willing.
Furthermore, encipherment can be performed on a white sheet, that
looks to nonexperts like blank; or, in the interest of still more
concealment, the sheet may be loaded up with a cryptanalysable piece
of writing that is irrelevant to the substance of the message intended,
for the real secret is in fact hidden there in the blank [using a type of
steganography]. To this kind of encipherment I shall allocate a special
study, as it is a really quaint secret.

102
 Conclusion
Practice and Exercise

You should realize that practice in cryptanalysis is gained at an

adept old hand, as it is a valuable secret of this art. Let me adduce the
following example enciphered for me by some Maghrebi in Dar as-
Salaam in the year 626, i.e. 1229 AD [using the method of conceptual
relationship and diffusion]:

If only we in company pass'd away;

My corpse with hers just one grave share:
Then only she one day should rise to life
From dead, and pick the daffodils afresh.
That would give me the boon I entertained,
For I could even once be by her side.

The cipher read as follows, [the relationship being bird species]:

Pigeon dove hoopoe saker pigeon hawk dove hoopoe hawk bu
magpie saker hawk magpie grackle saker hoopoe eagle hawk lark
hoopoe hoopoe lark hawk crow saker falcon hoopoe lark hawk
sparrow dove saker ringdove lark hawk grackle dove hawk pigeon
bu saker lark hawk crow roller lark hawk lark bu saker lark.
Nightingale pigeon blackbird sparrow ringdove hawk falcon
hoopoe saker lark eagle lark hawk ringdove roller saker eagle lark
hawk crow lark hoopoe hoopoe saker hawk magpie crane lark
ringdove eagle hawk bat dove saker eagle lark hawk blackbird bat
saker pigeon hawk dove hoopoe hawk lark roller falcon hoopoe saker
lark.

104
 I counted the figures and they were 19 in all. I fixed the number of
times each figure was repeated; the subtotal numbers were as follows:
Bird Frequency Bird Frequency
pigeon 5 times crow 3 times
dove 6 falcon 3
hoopoe 11 sparrow 2
saker 13 ringdove 4
hawk 18 roller 3
bu 3 nightingale 1
magpie 3 blackbird 2
grackle 2 crane 1
eagle 5 bat 2
lark 16

When I set out to cryptanalyse the space [between words], the word
"saker" entertained my mind first, but I soon dismissed this possibility
when I looked at the last figure in both lines, to find "lark", preceded
by "saker". My argument was based on the fact that ‫( ال‬l ) very rarely
occurs at the end of a verse as an independent word, but as part of a
longer word there. So I switched over to "lark", but my assumption
was also falsified when I found 19 letters right from the beginning of
the first line to "lark", as an Arabic word all that long does not exist. I,
therefore, shifted again to "hawk" and it came home to me that from it
right to its fellow figure can be a word. On that I worked. Then I
examined the letter ‫ ) ( ا‬and held that it would probably be "dove";
thereupon I took up the tow-letter word which was "dove hoopoe",
i.e.( ِٓ); "grackle dove", i.e. ( ُ‫ ;)ص‬and "dove hoopoe", i.e. ( ِٓ) again.
Now I felt more inclined to believe that what I guessed ( ِٓ) and ( ُ‫)ص‬
were (ْ‫ )أ‬and ( ‫ )ِب‬respectively. On closer examination it presented
itself to me as ( ‫ )إٔٔب‬and I felt almost confident of it being the intended
word. I carried on my verification a step further by scrutinizing what I
branded (ْ‫)أ‬, and found it had the characteristic of ( ِٓ) in both lines.
Then I considered ( ًٕٔ‫إ‬ٚ) and gradually confirmed my belief that it
was really (‫ )إٕٔب‬no doubt.

106
 I moved on to consider "crow", and had the impression that it
might well be the letter ٚ (w), as it is one among several possibilities
in common use, namely, ( ًٕٔ‫إًٕٔ فإًٕٔ وإًٔٔ ثأ‬ٚ), with the ٚ (w) more
frequent in this position. I elaborated that. Then I traced the definite
article (‫)اي‬, and spotted nothing but "roller" at the end of the line, with
two counterparts: the one in (‫ال‬ٚ), the other in ( ‫ب‬ٍٍٙ‫)ع‬. That it might be
‫( ي‬l) did not cross my mind then. In order to support my assumption I
pondered "crow roller lark", out of which was drawn (‫ال‬ٚ). This turned
the scales in favour of ‫( ي‬l) after it had seemed at first a mere figment
of the imagination. So far, all the figures of the word ( ‫ )اٌلٍٔب‬were
solved save "falcon", which I studied intently by scanning against the
letters of the alphabet. I got the word ( ‫)اٌلٍٔب‬, and thus it came right for
me. My initial impression had all the time been that the poem had a
relief letter,28 but this notion soon faded out when I cryptanalysed the
letter ‫) ( ا‬. Having verified that, I looked into the component letters of
the word ( ‫ئلٔب‬ٚ) –all of them had already been solved, but they did not
make sense to me, as the predicate of (ّْ‫ )إ‬never links with its subject
by means of the conjunction ٚ (w) nor by any other conjunction. This,
again, made against my previous assumption. I made a third attempt
on those fragments already solved, and so I reconsidered ( ‫)أؽٍب‬, of
which only "bu " was still covert. I matched this with the letters of
the alphabet and drew the following words: ‫أثٍب‬, which is meaningless;
‫أرٍب‬, ‫ أصٍب‬and ‫أؽٍب‬, which are all meaningful; also ‫ أٍٍب‬and ‫أعٍب‬. Of these
words I had my heart set on ‫أؽٍب‬, and so tried to verify its suitability by
matching against its counterpart in ‫رؾٍب‬. The figures "pigeon" remained
concealed, which I matched against the letters of the alphabet, and the
word ‫ رؾٍب‬got out. I sought the genuineness of the letter ‫( د‬t) in it, and
so had recourse to the beginning of the verse to find "pigeon" as the
first and final letters, with َ (m) and ْ (n) solved, while َ (m) still
unsolved. I had already had the impression that "dove" represented the
letter َ (m), and my belief was confirmed on the spot when I uttered it,
and it made sense.

28
-Refer to rule No 17 for ibn Adl n's definition of the relief letter.-

108
 I then moved on to the word ( ً‫)ؽج‬, of which only the letter ‫( ة‬b)

was left unsolved. I checked it against the alphabet, and the word

( ً‫ )ؽج‬came out. I studied it so as to see whether the figure "magpie"

stood for the letter ‫( ة‬b). To do that I considered its identical figure in

the words ( ‫ )ثضٍٕخ‬and ( ‫)ثَبعخ‬, and reflected on that for quite a while, but

to no avail as yet. I left it over to the word ( ‫)كٍٔب٘ب‬, of which all letters

were then known except the letter ‫( ٘ـ‬h). I came away with it

meaningfully right away; the letter ‫) ( ا‬, being in terminal position,

warranted my belief a fortiori that ‫( ٘ـ‬h) should have been the choice

as the preceding letter. Moving on to the word ( ‫)ثضٍٕخ‬, of which only

"grackle" was still unsolved, I matched "grackle" against the letters of

the alphabet, and thereby the word ( ‫ )ثضٍٕخ‬got out. All this I did without

as yet hitting a well-organized context after the word ( ‫)إٔٔب‬. I considered

the counterpart of "grackle" and found it prior to "dove" in the word

( ُ‫)ص‬, which I did cryptanalyse, obtaining the coherency required except

for (ً‫ )عٍّعب‬and (‫ئلٔب‬ٚ).

110
 Now I looked into the remainder of the other line. My failure at
first to solve the word (‫ )فزوعع‬in it induced me to switch over to ( ‫ب‬ٍٍٙ‫)ع‬.
Upon identifying "ringdove" against the alphabet I got ( ‫ب‬ٍٍٙ‫)ع‬. I made
another attempt at the word ( ‫)فزوعع‬, again unsuccessfully. I turned
over to the word ( ‫)ثَبعخ‬, of which only "crane" was still hidden, i.e.
the letter ً (s). I matched it against the letters of the alphabet, and the
word ( ‫ )ثَبعخ‬manifested itself. I did the same with the word ( ‫ب‬ٍّّٙ‫)ظ‬, of
which "bat" being the sole unknown figure. Afterwards I turned to the
word ( ‫)هظٍذ‬, with the figure "blackbird" being still unsolved, and set
it to the touchstone in order to bear out the authenticity of my
cryptanalysis of ( ‫ب‬ٍّّٙ‫ )ظ‬above. I matched "blackbird" against the
alphabet, and the letter ‫( ه‬r) appeared. Again, in the interest of
verification, I considered the beginning of the other line, of which the
figure "nightingale" was still close, matching it against the alphabet.
The word ( ‫ )فزوعع‬got out, and rightly so, for it comports with the
general purport, in view of the conceptual relationship between the
two verses. Now that all the words of the cryptogram were practically
out, the word ( ‫ئلٔب‬ٚ) developed in the light of the context as well as
from the dual-form usage necessitated by it.
Study that downright, use it in similar cases, and practise all that I
have made known to you; for this glimpse, I tell you, is of utmost
advantage in this field. May God favour your intentions, and may
good luck attend your steps at all times. Praise be to God, the Lord of
the worlds, and His blessing and peace be on our Prophet Mu ammad
and his noble household.
112
33
 1

3 2

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

35
 1

3 2

(1)
1230 627
644

1263 662
319 7 311 5
(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

106 105

213 1
37
1

(1)

(2)

(3)
206 1

39
1

4 3

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

41
 1

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)
132 79
49

43
 ‫‪1‬‬

‫‪4‬‬ ‫‪3‬‬ ‫‪2‬‬

‫)‪(1‬‬
‫‪282‬‬
‫‪٘370‬ـ ‪981‬‬ ‫‪895‬‬ ‫٘ـ‬
‫‪1967‬‬
‫‪311 5‬‬
‫)‪(2‬‬
‫‪1007‬‬ ‫‪٘ 398‬ـ‬
‫‪1066‬‬ ‫‪٘ 458‬ـ‬
‫‪264 4‬‬
‫)‪(3‬‬

‫)‪(4‬‬
‫‪416‬‬
‫‪30 11‬‬ ‫‪1025‬‬ ‫٘ـ‬
‫‪45‬‬
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(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

47
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(1)

49
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4 3
 

(1)

(2)

(3)
154 2 82 28
(4)

51
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(1)

(2)
1125 519 1037 428

117 7 10 8 14
(3)

(4)
207 6 65 1
41 1 269 46
236 487
53
 1

3 2

(1)
1129 523
1204 600 596
141 8
(2)

(3)
970 360

168 167 7
(4)

(5)

1245 643
256 13 206 8
55
 1

(1)

(2)

(3)

57
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4 3

(1)

(2)
1227 624 1180 576

108 107 5
(3)
1145 540
1218 615
(4)
1206 603
1258 656
334 2

59
 1

(1)

(2)

61
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(1)

(2)

(3)

63
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3
 

(1)

(2)

(3)
28 11
(4)

65
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(1)

(2)

(3)

67
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2
 

4 3

(1)

324

85 2

369 3

(2)
3 1 91
(3)

(4)

69
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2


(1)

(2)
286 2
71
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(1)
  61 17
(2)

(3)

(4)

73
 ‫‪2‬‬ ‫‪1‬‬

‫‪3‬‬

‫‪4‬‬

‫‪6‬‬ ‫‪5‬‬

‫‪7‬‬

‫)‪(1‬‬

‫)‪(2‬‬

‫)‪(3‬‬
‫‪٘ 660‬ـ ‪1262‬‬

‫‪220 219 1‬‬

‫)‪(4‬‬

‫)‪(5‬‬

‫‪454 5‬‬
‫)‪(6‬‬

‫)‪(7‬‬

‫‪75‬‬
 2 1

(1)
380 4

(2)

(3)

77
 1

3 2

(1)

99 99

(2)
372 3
(3)

79
 1

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)
1130 524
1202 599
167 6 212 4 136 135 2 167 141 12

81
2 1

(1)

(2)

(3)
60

225 3
(4)
11 3

109 2
(5)

83
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(1)

(2)

(3)
111
85
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(1)

87
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(1)

(2)

220 8 3
(3)

89
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(1)

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152
(3)

117 116

73 3

91
 ‫‪1‬‬

‫‪2‬‬

‫‪3‬‬

‫‪4‬‬

‫)‪(1‬‬
‫‪802‬‬ ‫‪٘186‬ـ‬
‫‪111 110 3‬‬
‫)‪(2‬‬
‫‪160 1‬‬ ‫‪263 2‬‬
‫)‪(3‬‬
‫‪912‬‬ ‫‪300‬‬
‫)‪(4‬‬
‫‪263 2‬‬

‫‪160 1‬‬
‫‪93‬‬
 1

3 2

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

95
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(1)

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1230 2
97
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(1)

200
91 359 517
99
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(1)

101
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(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

105
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(1)

(2)

107
 1

(1)

109
111
113